Post by dan on Mar 13, 2012 7:21:29 GMT -4
mark which side is which on both the driveshaft and the pinion yoke. just a quick line on each for alignent purposes is all you need. unbolt the end of the driveshaft at the pinion, and set it down out of the way. no need to even remove it from the t-case.
if you have a good impact gun, removing the pinion nut is a breeze. just spin it off with the appropriate sized socket on the impact gun, I think it's either 1 1/8 or 1 1/4. otherwise, you will need a good sized pipe wrench to hold the pinion, and you will have to break it loose with a strong-arm and possibly a pipe for extra leverage.
once you remove the nut, give the back side of the pinion yoke a tap, it should come loose. pull it off, along with the washer that was behind the nut.
use a screwdriver or prybar to pop out the old pinion seal.. be cafeful to not jam your pry-tool into the bearing. that don't want to hurt that.
.give the surface that the seal seals on a good cleaning with emery cloth or sandpaper, make sure all the rust and dirt is gone. use a piece of pipe or a large deep socket to tap the new seal in. the socket or pipe should fit sin the deep ring area near the outside diameter of the seal. that way it won't deflect any of the seal when you hammer it in. (I have used a block of wood flat on the outside to hammer it in carefully, juist walking the piece of wood around in a circle as I tapped. it works.) make sure you don't hit it in crooked, or else you might bend the seal, and it won't seal properly.
once the seal is in, take the pinion yoke, and clean the sealing surface really well with emery cloth or sandpaper. you want to smooth out any bumps, or high and low spots, and clean it up nicely. Then you can put it back in on the pinion, followed by the washer, and the nut.
tighten it up, and you will feel the pinion flopping around some. continue to tighten it up and you will feel the slop getting less and less.
tighten to the point where the free play and slop *just* stops. this should give you the amount of load or preload that you had before you took it apart. I often make it just a tiny bit more tight after that, to give it a little more preload, to compensate for gear and pinion wear.
bolt up your driveshaft again.
if you have a good impact gun, removing the pinion nut is a breeze. just spin it off with the appropriate sized socket on the impact gun, I think it's either 1 1/8 or 1 1/4. otherwise, you will need a good sized pipe wrench to hold the pinion, and you will have to break it loose with a strong-arm and possibly a pipe for extra leverage.
once you remove the nut, give the back side of the pinion yoke a tap, it should come loose. pull it off, along with the washer that was behind the nut.
use a screwdriver or prybar to pop out the old pinion seal.. be cafeful to not jam your pry-tool into the bearing. that don't want to hurt that.
.give the surface that the seal seals on a good cleaning with emery cloth or sandpaper, make sure all the rust and dirt is gone. use a piece of pipe or a large deep socket to tap the new seal in. the socket or pipe should fit sin the deep ring area near the outside diameter of the seal. that way it won't deflect any of the seal when you hammer it in. (I have used a block of wood flat on the outside to hammer it in carefully, juist walking the piece of wood around in a circle as I tapped. it works.) make sure you don't hit it in crooked, or else you might bend the seal, and it won't seal properly.
once the seal is in, take the pinion yoke, and clean the sealing surface really well with emery cloth or sandpaper. you want to smooth out any bumps, or high and low spots, and clean it up nicely. Then you can put it back in on the pinion, followed by the washer, and the nut.
tighten it up, and you will feel the pinion flopping around some. continue to tighten it up and you will feel the slop getting less and less.
tighten to the point where the free play and slop *just* stops. this should give you the amount of load or preload that you had before you took it apart. I often make it just a tiny bit more tight after that, to give it a little more preload, to compensate for gear and pinion wear.
bolt up your driveshaft again.